DH and I have recently been talking about downsizing.The kids are all grown and have homes of their own. We have a 5 bedroom house with 11 rooms total. While I do agree it's a whole lotta house I think what is really scaring me is losing all of my sewing space. Right know I have the entire second floor. I have a beautiful sewing cabinet that my Dad built with a lift up extension to make it 6 ft square. A sit down tin lizzie 18. A stand up homemade frame with a jenome 1600p that I am in the process of trying to sell and a grace hand quilting frame. My spinning wheel , My embroidery machine and all of the gadgets and fabric to go along with all of it.
Maybe I'm just afraid of packing it all. The good thing is we are looking at 2 houses that are in walking distance of my favorite quilt shop.( this could be trouble).
Has anyone else been through this recently. Our neighborhood isn't what it used to be and I really would like to go somewhere new. I guess just a little scary when you have lived in the same house for 20+ yrs.

YIKES>>.you will still need quite a bit of space for all of that stuff!...and you know what I say about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence....greener means it takes more fertilizer(nice word) and work to keep it green! Our neighborhood is NOT what I would have chosen, but it is a nice house and we can afford it...sooo we make do....story of my life...

my best friend from school searched out the PERFECT state, city, block etc to retire and build her DREAM home....a year later they sold and moved 8 states away...why you ask...her NEW perfect neighborhood had 3 crack houses busted in it within a year.....we are talking $250,000 plus homes in an upscale area of Oregon....

goes to show you...you just NEVER know who lives next you...and perfect is usually in our heads...not in the realm of reality!

same house for 24 years.
1 thous. square feet three steps down from front and back doors. main floor 1500 square feet 9 steps up.
we moved down to the college student, MIL apartment due to the steps..
so, I MISS a sewing room.. be sure you have that one room to spread out !! don't loose a sewing room !
My daughter and her family ( husband, 2 children and dog) moved in main house while husband traveld so much. he no longer travels, my disablity has them living here anyway.. so our down size was not to find a differant home. but did get rid of one floor of STUFF.. ahah
STill WARNING.. give yourself a sewing room dear.. you will MISS it.
Ell

I downsized 6 years ago. Current house is 3 bedrooms and two baths. Just me so you would think this is enough space. NOT!! Former sewing room as 18 x 30. Considering building a seperate building for sewing, or moving to larger house. As my dad always said, it's easy to move up but difficult to move down. If sewing/quilting is your passion, give that space serious thought.

I downsized 6 years ago. Current house is 3 bedrooms and two baths. Just me so you would think this is enough space. NOT!! Former sewing room as 18 x 30. Considering building a seperate building for sewing, or moving to larger house. As my dad always said, it's easy to move up but difficult to move down. If sewing/quilting is your passion, give that space serious thought.

We too are talking abt downsizing from our main home of 33 yrs to living at our Lake hse...Personally don't know if I want to do that and live at the Lake full time...then it's not a get away anymore. So we're thinking of buying something smaller down south to spend winters and then summers up north at the Lake...Still love NY and don't know if I can leave.

Glad you posted. We are looking at downsizing in four years. We bought a 2 bedroom condo in Florida this spring and hopefully will use the family cottage we share in the summers (after selling our house). We don't have a huge cape but we do have a lot of stuff. And I do have the spare bedroom for all of my sewing stuff, craft stuff etc.

We didn't plan on moving so fast on Florida property but we found a real deal that we couldn't pass by. I had just bought a treadle from a friend too. That won't be going to Florida! My backup plan (just a pipe dream, really) would be to have a little RV in the driveway at the cottage just for sewing.

We "downsized" almost 3 years ago. We started talking about 2 yrs before, it was rather emotional. We had been in the other house 33 years and that is where the kiddos grew up...lots of memories but they go with you. Like you the neighborhood was changing and dh wanted tall ceilings and less land. Land was the only downsize part! This house is larger on less land...lol.